Municipalities throughout the state have enacted property maintenance, zoning and building codes to ensure construction is performed safely and in a technically sound manner, development occurs in an orderly fashion and properties are maintained and kept free of safety hazards. Key components of these regulatory schemes are inspections performed by municipal agents and employees, such as code enforcement officers and building inspectors, who monitor conformity with municipal regulations and issue citations and violation notices for noncompliance. Such “administrative inspections” however, may, in certain circumstances, violate the constitutional rights of residents to be free from unwarranted searches, guaranteed by both the U.S. and Pennsylvania constitutions. In fact, any search of private property by the government or someone acting on behalf of the government implicates the Fourth Amendment’s protections.
Most people are aware of these limitations, at least peripherally, in the context of police officers and other law enforcement officials investigating suspected criminal activity—namely the requirement that a search warrant be obtained prior to performing a nonconsensual search of property. Failure to obtain court permission for such a search invokes the “fruit of poisonous tree” doctrine, by which any evidence discovered as a result of the search is inadmissible against the occupant or property owner. This type of search warrant is known as a “general search warrant,” and must be issued by a judge.
